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one.
Often overlooked is the term 'lilith' as the nomenclature for a sub-section of demons, characterised as desireable, attractive and seductive in nature. Not to be confused with incubi or succubi, liliths are considered the superior sub-section to their inferior counterparts.
Let's get something straight.
Inseong is not. But that's not the main point here.
The main point is that Inseong is a "blood-sucking demon fuck" in the wise and ever so eloquent words of Lee Sanghyuk the first time he found out his eldest friend's true nature. A shocked Sanghyuk stands in the doorway of their fraternity house, three large boxes of cheese, pepperoni and vegetarian (for Jaeyoon because he's bulking, Chanhee comments that if he really was bulking, he wouldn't be eating pizza. Jaeyoon promptly ignores him and tells him he can sleep on the couch tonight.) slipping from his hand as he comes face to face with Inseong sucking a see-through bag of crimson red liquid as if it was a Capri-Sun.
Before the ruins of three most-likely underpaid teenage employees' handiwork meets the hardwood floor of their house, Inseong is knelt in front of Sanghyuk, two hands firmly sandwiching their dinner for the night. It happened too quickly. Sanghyuk's brain is scrambling, his hyung had the athleticism of a leaf and gets winded by the distance between his bed and the light switch. There is absolutely no way he was able to cover the distance between the front door and the couch with the reflexes of a professional sportsman. That, and Inseong's eyes are glowing red.
Sanghyuk promptly turns and screams, running back down their front yard as fast as his legs can carry him. He barrels into his two other hyungs, Jaeyoon and Youngbin, who are walking towards the house. He's screaming nonsense, something that the other two vaguely register about Inseong, as they catch him by the arms.
"Hyuk what's wrong?"
Sanghyuk's mouth releases a litany of words that did not form a single coherent sentence but luckily the association of 'Inseong' and 'blood' were enough for the pair to understand what he was freaking out over.
"Oh, I guess you know now."
"W-what?"
"Come on, let's go back and have a nice little chat with Inseong hyung."
Protests leave Sanghyuk's mouth, partially still terrified with the events that occured prior and wholly confused about the blase response of Jaeyoon and Youngbin. His nonsensical shouting attracts the attention of some bug-eyed first years who stare at the fourth year student being dragged into a house by two other students who each have an arm locked around one of his. Panic sets in as he's brought back into the house and watches Jaeyoon lock the door behind them. He's pawing at Youngbin who easily lifts him over his shoulder which only causes his screaming to intensify to the point he's fifteen again with voice cracks joining his vocal range.
Summoned by the banshee shrieks of a prepubescent teenager, a scowling Chanhee emerges from Jaeyoon and Inseong's shared room.
"Sanghyuk hyung, shut the fuck up."
The younger launches a stuffed alpaca across the mezzanine that hits Youngbin square in the face. Setting the car alarm that was Sanghyuk down on the couch, Youngbin sends a pointed glare to the second year freeloader. Chanhee storms back into the cave he came from, the look of annoyance refusing to leave his face. Seemingly unbothered by any of the events that have occured within the past five minutes, Inseong opens a box of cheese pizza and helps himself. Sanghyuk notices this and snatches the slice from his hands.
"No! No pizza for you!"
"Hey! I paid for it!"
On Inseong's behalf, Jaeyoon slaps the other upside the head and hands the slice back to him. Inseong thanks him and devours it. Sanghyuk can only stare at the thing that he thought was just a nice, cute older hyung who occasionally acts like a child and uses his young-looking face to his advantage way too frequently to be getting away with it. His brain is producing so many thoughts per second, and it doesn't do that often. A headache soon followed.
Silence.
"So, I'm a demon."
Inseong begins, stopping to lick the grease off his fingers. Sanghyuk stares at him, eyes threatening to pop out of his head. The auburn-haired male takes it as his sign to continue, "One with an affinity for the taste of blood."
Sanghyuk looks to Jaeyoon and Youngbin to see if they are at all affected by Inseong's revelation. Instead, the two are also enjoying a greasy carb-heavy dinner.
"You guys know about this?!"
"Yeap." "Yeah."
"Since when?!"
"Primary school." "When he got drunk one day and asked if he could feed from me." Jaeyoon and Youngbin answered respectively.
"And you guys are just okay with it? With him being a- a blood sucking demon fuck????"
"Pretty much."
"Does everyone else know?"
"Yeap."
"How?"
"We have a roster for who he feeds from."
Sanghyuk faints soon after this conversation. And that's exactly why Sanghyuk isn't on the roster.
The oldest members of the house tuck him into bed and calls the rest of the house down for dinner. Inseong saves a few slices for Sanghyuk for when he regains consciousness. He also stops Juho from trying to take them, ignoring the blonde-haired male's excuse of 'Sanghyuk wouldn't mind!' because he knows that Sanghyuk would a hundred percentage definitely mind. Seokwoo also adds his two cents, through a mouthful of pepperoni, that it was Sanghyuk's fault for being such a pussy, and therefore Juho deserves the slices. Thankfully, Youngbin shuts the two peas-in-a-pod roommate duo with a swift backhand to their heads. Inseong gives Youngbin an extra slice as an expression of gratitude.
After that, everyone in the house is aware of Inseong's true nature. He's not sure if Sanghyuk truly believes him or not, but it takes a few weeks before the younger goes back to normal and is asking Inseong to buy him ice cream. The only outsider who's aware is Chanhee. He is privy to this information because when he started dating Jaeyoon, they had to explain why his boyfriend had bite marks on his neck every Thursday. Nothing could have possibly prepared any of them for when Chanhee turned up the next Thursday with a blood bag and offered it instead of Jaeyoon. Ever since then, Jaeyoon had been replaced with bagged blood and everyone is slightly terrified of Chanhee, which is why he's allowed to practically freeload from the house.
Despite spending most of his free time at the house, Chanhee still owns a dorm on campus. He claims that if he moved into the house, he'd lose all of his braincells and he needed a sanctuary to maintain his intelligence. Inseong convinces himself that the younger man is solely referring to Sanghyuk in order to resist strangling him for blatantly calling him an idiot.
Jaeyoon asks Inseong if he can drop off some of the younger man's laundry one night to his dorm whilst he's busy finishing off an assignment. Inseong agrees, not minding a night-time stroll for a breath of fresh air. He's walking through the familiar corridors of the second-year dormitories when suddenly his vision turns hazy. His mind blanks and there's a slight buzzing sensation vibrating through his body. Something takes control of him, almost like a gravitational pull, as his feet travel along a pre-determined route without his conscious knowledge. Eventually he ends up in front of a door that his brain tells him is where he needs to be. The fuzzy feeling that envelopes him is only intensified as he stands in front of this door. He knocks quickly and hopes Chanhee has a spare blood bag laying around because he feels absolutely ravenous all of sudden.
The door is opened enough just to reveal half the face of a young student. His dark eyes, outlined with a thin layer of eyeliner, peek out through black, wavy bangs. This is not Chanhee, Inseong's brain helpfully supplies as the previous buzzing that clouded his vision and thought-process seemingly dissipates. Inseong is suddenly acutely aware of the prolonged silence that has passed since he's been idly standing in front of a stranger's doorway. If Inseong was warm-blooded, his cheeks would have been red.
"O-Oh sorry, wrong room." He sheepishly replies with an embarassed smile, bowing his head slightly.
The student gives him the once over before slamming the door shut. Inseong's customer service smile drops.
Rude.
--
two.
Liliths have a penchant for blood, requiring it as a source of sustenance and power. They are considered vampiric, despite there being strong evidence to suggest the existence of liliths as opposed to parasitic beings known as 'vampires'.
Youngkyun is not a fan of people.
People are annoying. Especially the fratty knobheads that talk everyone's ear off in homeroom. They're so loud, even over his music that's at a much higher volume than advisable by most doctors. Then again, Youngkyun was never one to listen to authority. He tries to keep his eyes facing forward, trained onto his notebook. Slivers of a conversation he's not a part of make their way through the lulls in his music. It's something trivial about another party, one weekend after the other, that Youngkyun's honestly surprised that their livers haven't given out yet.
The motley crew of Ildangbaek House are like the seven sins, except redesigned to specifically piss off Youngkyun.
Sanghyuk, the "class clown", is responsible for most of the noise. His exaggerated movements and gestures has Youngkyun rolling his eyes and wondering if he would be expelled for tranquilising the older student.
Youngbin is the leader of Youngkyun's information systems group and as skillful as he is with his code, he is far too strict with pointing out the errors in their code and demanding a rewrite to ensure its perfection. Not to be vulgar, but Youngbin has a stick up his ass and Youngkyun wishes someone would do the entire world a favour and pull it out.
Juho and Seokwoo have been graced and cursed with long limbs that they enjoy spreading across all reasonable space like unkempt tree roots that Youngkyun have tripped over way too many times for his liking. The duo are inseparable where half the time they're thick as thieves and the other half, they're at each others' throats like an old married couple. Youngkyun halfs expects one of them to end up in a body bag and he'll take bets on which one of them it is.
Jaeyoon is the type to solve his problems by pressing his hands into his lap and offering a smile that pushes the corners of his lips into his round cheeks. And what's infuriating is that it works. He can't hate the other male too much since he's dating Chanhee and Chanhee, with all his own flaws and attitude, is the closest thing Youngkyun has to a friend. Friend is too nice of a label. Kang Chanhee is the five-foot eight drowned sewer rat from hell that lives in the dorm room opposite his.
Taeyang is...tolerable (because Youngkyun slept with him once and now likes to pretend the other doesn't exist in order to avoid confronting himself with the fact that he doesn't really regret that one night). There's a lot of denial and internal crises that Youngkyun finds himself having over the other male as he cries into his midnight ramen. It all seems to disappear the instant he passes by the older student in the hallways and Taeyang gives him a nod of acknowledgement. No, Youngkyun's heart does not go flutter-flutter and starts pitter-pattering, instead his brain tells him he's a dumb idiot and that Yoo Taeyang looks too fucking good for his own good.
And finally Inseong. Youngkyun wasn't even aware he was part of Ildangbaek. In fact, he wasn't even aware of the other student's existence until he turned up one day knocking at his door. Since then, Youngkyun hasn't been able to stop noticing the fox-eyed, rose-gold haired male. Something about him is unsettling. Unnatural even (Youngkyun prides himself on this after he finds out Inseong's true nature - spoiler alert - but in reality, as Chanhee points out, his demon radar is as shit as his social skills. Totally uncalled for, Youngkyun thinks as he launches the pillow he's clutching at his friend. It completely misses and hits Taeyang, who happened to be walking by. Chanhee cackles like the evil demon spawn he is as Youngkyun attempts to become part of the couch he's sitting on.).
Weirdo, is the word that comes to mind when he thinks about Inseong. It says a lot coming from Youngkyun. He's aware that he's not everyone's first pick in most approachable and normal human being, in fact, he most likely doesn't even make the sample space. When he came home one night, a bag of unscented candles in his hand, Chanhee asked what he was doing with them. He found no shame in telling him that he was going to attempt a satanic ritual. Without skipping a step, Chanhee told him he needed to get laid and continued walking. At least he had the decency to say it to his face. The venn diagram of people who were into debating the philosophy of satanism and that liked Youngkyun enough to talk about it with him was very small. Youngkyun wasn't even in that diagram himself.
Once again, trying to drown out the klaxon horn of Sanghyuk's laughter, Youngkyun finds himself idly drawing pentagrams into the margins of his notebook.
ab imo pectore,
Ego trado tibi memet
et te,
ipsum.
"Inseong-hyung!"
Youngkyun is one high-strung filament of restraint away from pulling out his phone and purchasing the cheapest tranquiliser gun on a shoddy website as Sanghyuk's voice pierces through his peaceful static white noise. He snaps his head in the direction of where all the Illdangbaek patrons are gathered to deliver the death glare of his life, only to find his vision obstructed. He looks up to see a certain fox-eyed male staring back down at him.
There's a distant look hollowing the eyes of the other student as Youngkyun maintains eye contact. A glassy look that glazes Inseong's retinas that somehow Youngkyun can't seem to look away from. It's unsettling, Youngkyun thinks. But also...seductive? Youngkyun shakes his head disapprovingly at his own thoughts, eyebrows furrowing as he returns with a hardened stare to the other's unyielding gaze.
Pushing air through his throat, Youngkyun tries his best to not choke on his words as he asks, "Can I help you?"
"U-uh no, sorry." The older student smiles before turning and walking back to his group.
Youngkyun burns holes into the broad back of the elder student. He watches as Inseong rejoins his friends and they bombard him with questions, playfully slapping and laughing at his odd actions. The snide little side-eyes in Youngkyun's direction tells him he's probably the butt of whatever joke has Inseong giggling along with his friends. Youngkyun turns back to his notebook, ripping out the doodled page and focuses on writing notes for his first period.
Whatever.
--
three.
Whilst the source of blood is not of importance to liliths, the process is more enjoyable given that there is a mutual agreement between the lilith and the source. Another commonality of vampires derived from liliths, is the concept of requiring invitation, or, simply, consent.
Youngkyun stands inbetween the towering shelves of the university library as he reads over the familiar dog-eared page of the spellbook he bought from an alleyway bookshop. A diagram of a pentagram is neatly printed on the page with an adjoining chant beneath it. Youngkyun has studied this particular page quite frequently over the past month. He lightly traces his finger over the five-pointed star and recalls the chant from memory.
ab imo pectore,
Ego trado tibi memet
et te,
ipsum.
Youngkyun's gaze flickers upwards to the shelf just slightly within his reach. There's another book referenced in the source notes of the summoning ritual. He's hoping that it will reveal what he's doing wrong. Why the university library apparently has one of these books in its catalogue is beyond Youngkyun. The balls of his feet elevate off from the ground as he stretches his limbs upwards towards the spine of the book. Only managing fleeting brushes against the leather bound cover, Youngkyun retracts his hand momentarily to re-think his strategy.
Looking around the place, he sees that the library is empty. There's only a small spiral of shame in his stomach as he places down the book in his hand and gears up. He jumps, hand reaching the top of the spine but not being able to grasp a hold on it. Again. This time he manages a hold but it slips at the last minute like a rigged claw machine, slotting back neatly. Youngkyun must look like an idiot.
Staring up at the elusive little book that mocks him from above, Youngkyun huffs. He backs up until the adjacent bookshelf is right behind him. Using what little space he has as a make-shift run-up, he jumps again. Something resembling joy sparks in Youngkyun as he manages a solid grip on the book. But the adjoining books on either side also get caught by his sudden movement. Youngkyun's eyes almost pop out of their sockets as they watch the toppling books that are inevitably falling to meet his face. Sacrificing his hold on the book, Youngkyun raises both hands in a futile attempt to cover his face.
Oh fuck me.
The shameful pain of three book spines causing Youngkyun some sort of permanent brain damage never comes. Youngkyun opens his eyes. Inseong stands beside him with a number of books cradled between one arm and the other holding a single leather bound book. His eyes flit across the title.
Satanism: A History by M. Phistopheles
A small smile spreads across Inseong's face as he hands the book over to Youngkyun. Never before has Youngkyun been ashamed of his satanic interests, but for some reason, with the elder male standing in such close proximity next to him and having not only witnessed him almost get pummelled by the remnants of some trees but also having saved him from such pummelling, Youngkyun feels heat pooling into the apples of his cheeks. How embarassing. At least, that's what he's trying to convince himself is the reason for his sudden hot flush and the strange fluttering feeling in his stomach.
It's definitely not the way Inseong is reaching up and replacing the fallen books into their spot on the shelves with ease. Watching him, Youngkyun realises just how short he is. Actually, no, he's not short, Inseong is just tall. Towering, even. His shirt comes slightly untucked as he reaches upwards and Youngkyun catches the slightest glimpse of the other's pale torso, lined with the harsh indents of chiselled abs. The heat in Youngkyun's stomach only worsens.
"Thank you." He murmurs quietly as he makes his exit, side-stepping around the older student and almost running out of the library.
Inseong watches the younger male's fleeting silhouette. Kim Youngkyun. That was the name of the student who had closed the door in his face a few weeks prior. Inseong found himself inexplicably drawn to the younger student. It was as if the male has appeared out of thin air and now Inseong noticed him all the time. He had learnt his name from Chanhee, but he had also found himself observing the younger male himself. Again, Inseong doesn't know why Youngkyun suddenly appears everywhere, or why he's so fixated with everything the younger male does.
Youngkyun was a recluse who liked to keep to himself. He prefers savoury food as opposed to sweet when he overloads his plate with marinated beef, skips the rice pudding and then leaves the cafeteria to enjoy his lunch elsewhere in isolation. The type of music he listens to is a fifty-fifty split between hard EDM dance tracks and chill R&B rap. Inseong's ears pick up the lo-fi beats when he lets his gaze shift to Youngkyun during class who's nodding along to the music playing through his earphones. His mannerisms resemble a cat, especially when he's stretching his arms and retracting his outstretched fingers into his palms. He expands his entire body before contracting into a ball and snuggling into the crevasse of the common room couches, making himself smaller than he seems. It's quite endearing, Inseong thinks.
There's a small sense of joy blossoming inside of him to know that someone is interested in him. Well, not him in particular, but his nature. And someone as cute as Kim Youngkyun, Inseong could not ask for anything more.
--
four.
Liliths require blood for sustenance and this process, known as 'feeding', is required almost daily. Long periods between feeding may cause fatigue and weakness to the lilith.
Inseong is hungry.
He's insatiable actually, which is strange since he has already fed from Juho before they went to bed. But he's sitting up on his bed with an empty stomach and his fangs poking into his bottom lip. There's a desire swirling in the pits of his stomach, a need to feed that's unlike any craving he's ever had before. Inseong feels like he could drain something.
"Jaeyoon," He calls quietly to his roommate.
"Jaeyoon-ah." No movement.
"Lee Jaeyoon!"
The mound of blankets on the bed parallel to his shuffle slightly as a quiet groan sounds from between the layers.
"What hyung?"
"I'm hungry."
Another low whine follows as Jaeyoon draws in his blankets closer and makes a point to turn his back to Inseong, "Go ask Youngbin hyung, I'm tired."
Inseong sighs as he lifts off his covers and stalks outside their room, his red eyes lighting up the darkness of their fraternity house.
When Youngkyun thinks about it, he can definitely see why people don't like him. It's the dead of night and Youngkyun finds himself in the empty university cafeteria in a circle of salt. Candles flicker his distorted shadow along the drywall of the building as he kneels on the floor with a pentagram made of pantry spices in front of him. Hey, you make do okay? Also Youngkyun will not want to have a chalked pentagram traced back to him and be sued for property damage on top of his already crushing university debt. So when in doubt, exploit the institution's spice cupboard.
Youngkyun picks up the small book he had brought along with him, reading over the ritual one last time. He runs his index finger along the grainy trail of paprika and onion powder, tracing over the five-pointed star before circling back to the origin. Raising his finger, now covered in a dusty burgundy, he hovers his outspread hand over the five burning candles. The flames are licking against his cold skin, warming him thoroughly.
ab imo pectore,
Ego trado tibi memet
et te,
ipsum.
Youngkyun swipes his hand in a quick fluid motion across the line of candles, the flames extinguished in seconds as the entire room goes dark. He waits in silence, half-expecting something and half already disappointed.
The double doors of the cafeteria are flung open as Youngkyun backs up against the wall, breaking his salt ring. He throws his hands over his mouth to prevent the scream that was about to break a decibel reader from leaving his throat. A shadowy figure looms menancingly at the entrance, completely obscured in darkness. Youngkyun's heart is threatening to burst from his chest and nope out of there like the coward it is. He's done it. He's actually done it. And now he wishes he hadn't.
"Youngbin, I'm hungry."
What?
Youngkyun leans forward slightly and squints his eyes to try and make out who was in the cafeteria with him.
"Bin?"
"Bin?"
The voice is soft and fatigued, almost longing as it calls out. Youngkyun rises to his feet, quietly and slowly. He circumnavigates the cafeteria, wholly intending to slip by the stranger and make a run for it. When he's mere metres away from the exit, he's finally able to see who it is. It's Inseong. The older student looks like he's barely conscious, eyes drooping and bottom lip jutted out in a permanent pout. Youngkyun keeps as close the wall as possible as he slinks past, but not touching so his clothes don't make any noise. Freedom is in sight.
That is, until a death grip latches on his wrist.
"Oh Bin-ah, I'm hungry. Can you please feed me?"
Youngkyun stares wide-eyed at the taller male who is looking at him and yet still seems to believe that he's Youngbin. He wonders if he should just snatch his hand back and make a run for it.
"Um maybe-" Youngkyun clears his throat and tries to lower his register to imitate Youngbin, "Maybe in the morning?"
Inseong huffs, his shoulders dropping and the hand around Youngkyun's wrist is gone. He sighs, "Okay."
The other male turns to leave but stops just as he's at the doorway. He turns back to Youngkyun.
"Bin, you smell different."'
Youngkyun is at a loss of words but words are not needed as Inseong leaves shortly after. The younger student tries to place the events that just occured in the back of his mind as he speedily cleans up the spice alley on the floor and gathers his candles and book. He exits and stops short when he sees two figures under a dim street light. Youngbin has his hands on Inseong's shoulders, his oversized shirt hangs loosely from his upper body and his hair is a fluffed up mess indicating that he had likely just woken up. Youngkyun is too far away to hear what is being said but the conversation ends with Inseong being hoisted onto Youngbin's back as he's carried back in the direction of Illdaengbaek House.
And Youngkyun thinks it's a mix of late-night weariness, the fact he had been scared shitless and another failed ritual that has him thinking in that moment, god why do I wish that was me?
--
five.
Whilst human-demon relationships do occur, though incredibly rare, it is unknown whether liliths can truly experience what the human race refer to as 'love'. on the other hand, it is absolutely possible for all demons to experience intensified feelings of the seven deadly sins.
"Maybe I should just give him Taeyang and $50."
"I mean, that's actually a pretty solid idea."
Inseong catches bits and pieces of the conversation the couple sitting on the couch is having. He looks up from his seat on the kitchen island to see Chanhee scrolling through his phone, a fleeting determination evident in his pursed lips and unimpressed eyebrows with each lagging refresh of the online shopping site he's on. Jaeyoon rests his chin on the other's shoulder, also looking with his boyfriend at the various options.
"What are you guys talking about?"
Chanhee throws his head back and sighs, "It's Youngkyun's birthday next Tuesday and I don't know what to get him."
Youngkyun. Inseong can't help but smile slightly at the mention of the younger student. He admits, he has developed a small crush on the aloof male. They've talked sporadically in passing and it's gotten to the point where Inseong has convinced the other he can call him hyung. He cannot explain it but something about the other male is incredibly magnetic and Inseong always finds himself in close proximity with Youngkyun without even trying.
"Wait, why Taeyang?"
"Don't you know they slept together?" Jaeyoon asks as he pops up to look at Inseong.
"What?"
"Yeah they hooked up sometime last spring festival."
Inseong won't deny the spike of jealousy that sparks in the pits of his stomach. He's about to inquire more when as fate would have it, Taeyang comes down the stairs. Jaeyoon turns his head to face the other male who had just entered the living room, "Speak of the devil."
Inseong chuckles inwardly. Taeyang is not the devil, far from it.
"Hey Taeyang, what are you getting Youngkyun?" Chanhee asks.
The male in question walks into the kitchen to pour himself a glass of water. He thinks about it for a second before replying, "A shirt."
Chanhee frowns and turns back to his phone, "Lame."
Taeyang narrows his eyes at the younger male as he downs his water. He shifts his gaze over to Inseong who is staring right back at him. He smiles. Inseong doesn't return it which causes Taeyang's smile to drop. Something's wrong. Their staring contest is abruptly ended when a loud sneeze erupts from the couch.
"Oh ew, shut your face." Chanhee groans in disgust as he pushes his boyfriend's face away. Jaeyoon giggles as he rebounds easily and snakes his arm around Chanhee's waist, cuddling his boyfriend with his face resting on the other's side. The look of disgust doesn't leave Chanhee's face but he throws an arm around the six foot koala that's attached to him and kisses the top of his head.
Tuesday comes around in no time and Inseong waltzes into his first period class with a spring in his step. He takes his seat by the back window and sets up his desk, already ready for the lesson to end and be over. A little hardcover book and birthday card tied together by a thin lilac ribbon is neatly packed against the contents of his school bag. Cracking open his notebook to the notes from his last class, Inseong reads over to catch himself up.
He chuckles quietly at the cartoonish dick Jaeyoon had scrawled in the margins of his notebook, complete with a moustache and monocle with an arrow pointing to it and label reading 'Pringles man'. Real classy move from the beef boy. Inseong is twirling his pen in his hand, trying to come up with something to draw onto Jaeyoon's book today in revenge. He decides a retaliation dick drawing would be too basic. Maybe a scraggly drawing of Jaeyoon with three eyes and stink lines curling out of his hairy pits. Inseong chuckles to himself as the image materialises in his head. Yes, he was very mature.
Inseong gazes out the window, hoping to draw some sort of inspiration from nature. Instead he sees Youngkyun waiting at the bus station located in front of the university. The younger is wearing a thick, black, puffy jacket that swallows the bottom half of his face and his eyes are downcast to whatever he's watching on his phone. Another male soon joins the younger under the bus-stop. Taeyang holds out a small black bag towards the other. Youngkyun pockets his phone and takes the bag into his hands.
Inseong watches the small smile playing on Taeyang's face and the shy one on Youngkyun's as the younger pulls out a grey graphic shirt with some death metal band printed onto the front of it. A genuine happiness shines through Youngkyun's otherwise expressionless countenance as he thanks the older student.
Inseong frowns disapprovingly and turns back to his notebook.
He fucking hates incubuses.
"Youngkyun!"
The younger stops in the middle of the campus courtyard as he hears his name being called. When he turns, he doesn't expect to see Inseong running towards him. He moves his right arm behind his back, fully intending to hide the three grocery bags full of snacks he bought to get him through the predicted oncoming week of snow-ins. Inseong stops in front of the other and holds out something in his hands.
"Happy birthday!"
Youngkyun curiously looks down at what Inseong is holding. A small inconspicuous black book with only a title printed in an elegant old Victorian font was presented before him.
The Demon Beside You by D. Ha
He takes the book into his hands, a small blush creeping across his cheeks.
"O-Oh, thank you...Hyung." Youngkyun shivers slightly, sniffling at the cold that makes him feel uncomfortably moist. He was grateful that the other male has taken the time to buy him a birthday present but he wished this meeting was occuring anywhere than outside, completely exposed to the harsh elements of the Korean winter. Youngkyun has the immunity system of an over-baked wafer.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah it's..." Youngkyun just registers the other's short-sleeved t-shirt tucked into blue light-washed jeans, "...Cold."
Inseong tilts his head slightly, "Oh? I hadn't noticed."
It's literally snowing.
A smile stretches across the elder's face as he opens his arms invitingly. He grins, "Hug?"
Youngkyun grimaces at the preposterous preposition, "You're such a weirdo."
The wind picks up in that instance, as if karmic punishment for insulting the other student. Youngkyun curses as the cold penetrates through the multiple layers of his clothing, snapping against his bare skin.
"Fuck, okay okay."
He steps forward quickly, crashing into Inseong's body and squeezes his eyes shut. Inseong smiles victoriously as he tenderly wraps his arms around the younger boy. Wisps of amber light up his irises as flames erupt through the ground in a circle around them. Hellfire blocks out the raging wind and the vision of any other passerby that may happen upon the two figures embracing in the middle of the courtyard.
Just as quickly as the flames came, they went as Youngkyun pulls away with a starry look in his eyes. His shifting eyes look everywhere but the other in front of him, grip tightening on the small ribbon tied book in his hand.
He coughs awkwardly, "Wow, you're really warm."
Inseong beams, "Aha I guess I'm just built different. Anyways, I'll see you around, have a great birthday Youngkyun!"
The elder rushes off leaving Youngkyun stood dead still admist the falling snow. There is a lingering warmth that fends off the cold as Youngkyun stares at the book in his hands, dumbfounded. He's not entirely too sure how to feel, was this some kind of joke? And this frat boy was just taking the piss out of him for being a weird occult guy? But Youngkyun hadn't seen or heard of this book before and his collection of satanic literature was fairly expansive, well, as expansive as it can be because it is satanic literature after all. But Inseong's warmth and his scent of burnt wood doesn't last long as the wind picks up again. Youngkyun pulls together his scrambled thoughts and hurries towards the dormitories.
Had Youngkyun looked down, he would have seen a mark in the melted snow of a five pointed star within a circle, and only one set of footprints at the centre of it.
--
six.
There is no known way of summoning a lilith.
Inseong is, to put it very lightly, a fucking disaster when he's drunk. Many people would think that being an immortal, and genetically superior to humans in every way imaginable, would provide him some sort of alcohol tolerance. Even the finest and oldest wines have been sealed in their bottles for less time than he has been alive. The other boys have learnt that this is most definitely not the case one night when a bottle of soju in, Inseong is lying across Youngbin's lap, fangs bared and eyes swirling in a deep blush red that matches the colour of his saturated cheeks.
"Youngbin I think I'm a vampire."
"You're a demon Inseong."
"Oohh~, why?"
"I don't know Inseong."
Youngbin had also informed him the morning succeeding their annual after-exam party, that Inseong had climbed onto the roof of the house and attempted to jump into the pool. A complete silence had overfallen all the outside patrons who watched Inseong's limp body face-plant straight onto the hard concreate patio. That was until the elder male rolled over onto his back, a large smile stretching from ear to ear as he giggles to himself.
"I'm going to live forever!" Inseong yelled back towards the guests with a raised hand, drink sloshing all over the floor as Youngbin carries him back into the house and away from the loud cheers and chanting of his name.
The annual end of year party held by Illdaengbaek House is the culmination of a year's worth of pent-up stress, drama and academic oversight all let loose in an alcohol fuelled night of partying and bad decisions. In the span of one day and one night, Inseong - class president, top of his grade and every teacher's dream student - devolves into his true nature; a pleasure seeking, blood-thirsty demon.
Inseong looks good. In fact, he looks fucking amazing.
A white tank top was missing from Youngbin's closet, and he had also taken the most skimpy outfit he could find from Sanghyuk's room. Seokwoo had helped him perfect a winged eyeliner and add a little sparkly golden glitter under his eyes. He's applying a vivid red lip tint a female student had offered him in their bathroom mirror when a handsome stranger walks in. Inseong looks at the black haired male, raking his eyes up and down his tall, muscular figure. He smacks his lips together and turns around. With a dazzling smile, a filled shotglass untouched on the bathroom sink, and him looking this ravishing, Inseong absolutely cannot lose tonight.
Two hours into their rager, Inseong has already made out with any stranger that has spared him a second glance, took body shots off of Jaeyoon (much to his boyfriend's displeasure, they are now somewhere likely boning) and hidden a number of broken plates with Juho in the dumpster behind their house. Inseong is about ten drinks in when Youngbin stops him from doing a keg stand.
Inseong whines as he's pulled onto their couch by his younger friend, "Binnnnnn, it's what the people want! Don't be such a party pooper."
"Sorry Seong, can't let you get hurt."
Inseong's pout is in full force, "You know I'm damn invincible."
Youngbin rolls his eyes. Inseong wriggles out of the other's grasp but doesn't leave to go attempt, and likely fail, the first keg stand of his long long life. Instead he turns to face Youngbin's quizzical face, throwing his leg over the other's lap and straddling him. He places a quick kiss against the collar of Yougnbin's oversized white button up, staining it in a crimson red. The older male has made it a point to leave his mark, albeit cherry-flavoured and chemically made, on everyone he encounters. He pulls back with a satisfied smile.
"Bin be honest, you want me don't you?" Youngbin looks up at the other male with a lazy smile, slightly amused at where the conversation is going. Inseong continues his drunk rambling, "Come on, I'm hot and sexy. I am the pinnacle of beauty."
"You're drunk Inseong."
Inseong wraps his hands around the other's neck, bringing his lips to the shell of Youngbin's ear. A deep emerald green collapse his irises into dark, black elliptical slits. A little jealousy never hurt nobody. And Inseong is feeling spiteful tonight, it's in his nature. His hot breath tickles against the other's skin, enjoying the way Youngbin tenses beneath him.
"Taeyang thinks you're really fucking hot. It turns him on when you dance." Inseong pulls away and with a coy wink leaves a flushed Youngbin on the couch as he runs away. He'll deal with the aftermath of what he's created when he's sober, that is, if he remembers any of this.
Inseong decides to run to the refuge of his room, making his way up the stairs and taking a few more shots with whoever offers along the way. He loves the people and the people love him. He staggers to the second floor and reaches the closed door of his room. Opening the door, it takes a few minutes for his alcohol soaked brain to register that there's someone sitting on the floor with his succulents in a shitty little cult circle. Inseong feels an unbridled wave of anger and possessiveness as he outstretches his hand, ready to send this intruder to their fiery death.
"You're in my room, those are my succulents you succulent stealing whore."
The stranger looks up and Inseong realises that he's staring at Youngkyun. All of the previous anger fades away in a matter of seconds.
"Oh hey Kyunnie~"
The elder makes his way over to Youngkyun, who's wearing tight denim jeans, a plain white top and a leather jacket. Inseong thinks he looks real sexy. He sidles up against the younger male, resting his cheek next to Youngkyun's arm. Moving his head slightly, he presses a kiss against the other's jacket sleeve. Youngkyun looks at him, somewhat alarmed, but doesn't question it as he turns back to his cult circle.
"Whatcha you doing?"
"Trying to summon a demon to drag Chanhee to hell."
"Youngkyun! Did you like my birthday present?"
"You gave me an avocado and a used seafood ticket. I'm allergic to seafood Chanhee."
The younger giggles obnoxiously, red heavily dusting his flushed cheeks, "Fresh produce is expensive you know."
Youngkyun rolls his eyes, "Why don't you go suck Jaeyoon's dick or something."
"Hmm oh I most definitely will." Like the asshole Chanhee is, he knocks over the glass of mystery cocktail (because Youngkyun honestly doesn't know how many hands and mixers his glass has passed through to even come close to knowing what he's been drinking throughout the night) and Youngkyun just barely manages to jump up from his seat as the liquid splashes all over the kitchen island. Chanhee laughs uproariously before slinking into the crowd and disappearing.
"Fuck you Kang Chanhee, your birth certificate was an apology letter from the condom factory!"
Inseong doesn't question it and makes himself comfortable. He watches Youngkyun trace his finger from Inseong's fox pot succulent to the next cat shaped pot.
"Ab imo pectore."
The elder freezes. He feels like the breath has been knocked out of him as Youngkyun chants another line. His entire body is going fuzzy and he can't seem to control the colour of his eyes, feeling them pass through the entire colour wheel. A hand stops Youngkyun's before he's able to recite the next line. Inseong is no longer lazily resting against the other, but he has sat upright and is glaring at the other boy.
"Take off your shirt."
"Excuse me?!"
"Take. It. Off."
For some inexplicable reason, Youngkyun complies. He shuffles off his jacket and pulls his shirt up and over his head. Inseong briefly runs his eyes over the other's built chest and rock-hard six pack, letting his tongue swipe across his dry bottom lip before he remembers what he's looking for. He scrambles around to the back of other and that's when he sees it.
On Youngkyun's right shoulder blade is scarred skin in the shape of a five-pointed star in a circle and a pair of footprints in the middle.
On a dark day in Hell, Inseong finds himself kneeling seemingly in the middle of nowhere. His pants are dusted with fine sand and his black boots are digging a defined pair of prints into the ground. He sits quietly and patiently. Waiting.
Suddenly, there's a heat in front of him, scorching against his bare skin and disturbing the serene meditation he had been in. When Inseong opens his eyes, he sees a pair of black polished dress shoes. A large hand comes from above Inseong's line of sight to caress the side of his face, trailing down to cup his chin and tilt his head upwards. Inseong's eyes fall close again and he sighs contently.
"My Lord."
The touch disappears in an instant, as does the heat. When Inseong opens his eyes again, there is not so much as a pair of footprints in the sand that indicates anyone was ever there. But Inseong's dull brown eyes are now alight with a livid red that reflects the fires of Hell and an appetite for blood.
Youngkyun throws a look over his shoulder to see the older male staring intently at his back. He stands up and walks over to Inseong's mirror, back facing it. Confusion furrows his brows as he sees the scar on his shoulder. What in the good lord's name? Actually, the lord cannot help him now. When he turns to face Inseong, he's met with a pair of bright, red eyes.
"Y-You're-"
Something drags Youngkyun down to his knees. Inseong walks over to stand in front of him, looking down at him with those eyes. Those red eyes. His eyes flutter close, something tells Youngkyun that if he had continued to stare, he would be blinded. But something makes him feel completely at ease, safe even as he sighs complacently. He feels completely grounded by what he can only describe as pure power, like meeting infinity in human form. Something utterly unknown and otherwordly, it slightly excites Youngkyun. This was real. He wasn't just some sort of cult-worshipping freak anymore who surrounded himself with candles rather than actual people. He summoned a demon. Finally. Finally.
ab imo pectore
Inseong no longer feels drunk, the inhibiting effects of the preserved grape juice elevating from within his darkened bloodstream. Slender, long fingers feather along Youngkyun's jawline, tilting the younger's face upwards.
Ego trado tibi memet
Vibrations rack through Inseong's body as he levitates, feet leaving the timber floor of his bedroom. Pure power surges through his body. His eyes are no longer changing colours, they both fade into a black, blacker than anything known to man. The glitter Seokwoo had dusted along his cheeks blend into the cracks in his skin, breaking to let a golden light shine through. Thick conical horns sprout from the top of Inseong's hair, curling in on themselves.
et te,
Full, blackened wings erupt from the demon's back, stretching out and shaking out a few dead feathers. It's been too long since Inseong has put them to good use. So long since he has morphed into his real form and in a state to unleash his now unchecked power as the Prince of Hell, the second in command to Lucifer himself. Youngkyun's bottom lips trembles as he pushes out the last line of the incantation in a whisper.
ipsum.
Inseong opens his mouth and speaks in an out-of-body way with a voice that is not his, "Et ego, quod te mea."
A phantom hand rests heavily on Inseong's shoulder. A voice whispers to him.
He is yours now.
Inseong guides Youngkyun to his feet as he also returns to the floorboards. Youngkyun's eyes flutter open, taking in the sight of the demon before him with a look of fear and wonderment. There's no warning as Inseong gently brings his lips against the other's in a soft kiss.
So, this is how it feels to kiss a god.
Youngkyun submits all too easily, his knees weak with the intense power that is exuding from the other male as he deepens the kiss, wanting more and needing more. In this moment, he feels as though he's at the complete mercy of the other. The older male tastes sweet, like nothing Youngkyun's sweet tooth has ever tasted and it satisfies him completely. He's dizzy with pleasure as Inseong moves against him. Inseong's wings fold neatly into his back, his horns disappear and he's just left with his human form kissing a trembling Youngkyun.
When he pulls away, the younger is panting whilst Inseong is barely phased. Instead, he's hungry, in desperate need of a feed. The younger's rapidly beating heart in thrumming loudly in his ears as he smells the intoxicating scent of sweet, sweet blood pulsating throughout the smaller body of the other.
"You're a demon." Youngkyun states.
"And you've been summoning me."
It all makes sense to Inseong now. The sudden dizzy spells, the way his feet always seem to take him to Youngkyun and the mark on the other's back, his mark, that allows Inseong to claim Youngkyun.
"Am I...going to hell?"
Inseong's eyes darken as he grabs a hold of the other's waist and pushes him up against the wall of his bedroom.
"Not before I take you to heaven."
The demon reaches a hand up to grasp at Youngkyun's silky locks, pulling harshly to get him to expose his neck. Inseong latches onto the juncture between the base of his neck and shoulders, wasting no time in puncturing the skin with his fangs. Youngkyun cries out at the sudden assault, fisting his hands into the fabric of Inseong's shirt. The pain doesn't last long as it's replaced by the oddly satisfying drawl of his own blood into Inseong's mouth. Is he sick for liking this? Well, he's already a freak anyways and he may have just gotten his soul stolen, so screw morals.
Inseong feeds heartily from the younger, taking in his honey-sweet essence like a man dying of thirst. The taste of blood on his tongue fills him completely, satisfies him. The liquid drips down his fangs and over his chin, creating a sticky mess. He's never tasted anything as good. Youngkyun is absolutely irresistable and Inseong feels all self-control leave him as he drinks from the younger as though his blood is the elixir of life.
"SEONGERS- oh?"
A drunken Jaeyoon stumbles through the open door of their shared bedroom. He stops as he sees his roommate very evidently occupied with his head deep in the depths of another man's neck. Youngkyun is well beyond embarassed as Inseong also takes this moment to run his tongue along the two pin prick sized holes he's made. Youngkyun moans mortifyingly loud.
"Ohoh Kim Inseong you sly devil!" Jaeyoon boisterously toasts, raising the beer in his hands in honour of his roommate draining a boy right in front of him.
"Chug! Chug! Chug! Chug!" Jaeyoon chants loudly, turning back into the crowd outside as they join him, fist pumping and drinks raised.
It's the only thing Youngkyun can hear as his vision goes dark and he falls limp in Inseong's arms.
Sincerely, from the bottom of my heart,
I give you my life
And you,
him.
And I, take this life as mine.
--
epilogue.
There is one known summoning ritual for liliths, involving the scribing of its mark and an incantation. Success is dependent on the summoner and not guaranteed.
Youngkyun is not pleased.
He watches Inseong on the other side of the couch, snuggling up to Youngbin with a starry look in his eyes. His mouth is wide open, showing all his pearly white teeth and two extra-pointy canines as he laughs drunkenly at something the other male says. Youngkyun is the jealous type as he has since learnt in the few months he's been dating the now-white-haired Inseong. The elder's hair has gotten longer at his sides, just behind his bangs, that he often tucks behind his pointed ears. Sometimes he wears sparkly hair pins to keep the hair in place and Youngkyun can't help but compliment him on how pretty he looks. Inseong buys more pins the next day and Youngkyun makes sure they don't stay in his hair too long after that.
The jealously stems from knowing that Youngbin was, and likely still is, Inseong's closest friend. Despite being aware that Inseong fed from the other house patrons, though all of them have now since been replaced by Youngkyun, something about Youngbin especially turns Youngkyun into a green-eyed monster. Youngkyun learnt quite early on in their relationship that the two never dated, despite his own speculations about the two prior. Embarassment drained the colour of his face when Youngbin politely defused Youngkyun's abrasive confrontation that he was blatantly flirting with Inseong.
"He dropped his pen Youngkyun."
"And? I could have picked it up for him."
"Babe you just walked into the house."
There's nothing wrong with Youngbin, he is very nice and brings Youngkyun snacks when they're spending late nights together correcting code. Youngkyun knows that this is an issue for himself, but instead of confronting it, he excuses himself from the living room and heads to Inseong's room.
Youngkyun is re-arranging the succulents along Inseong's windowsill as he mutters to himself. There's a slight tingling sensation on his right shoulder blade as he eyes the new flowering buds extending from the leaves. A small little mark is inked onto the wrist of his outstretched hand, barely noticeable and resembling much more closely to a pen doodle as opposed to an actual tattoo. A five-pointed star encased in a circle and one pair of footprints in the middle.
"You can't be doing that you sneaky bastard."
A familiar voice appears behind him and when he turns, he sees the pouting face of his boyfriend standing in the doorway. Youngkyun smiles unapologetically and opens his arms. Inseong materialises between the younger's arms in the blink of an eye. He cages Youngkyun against the wall, eyes sparkling a crimson red.
"Needy."
Youngkyun shakes his head. Inseong raises his eyebrow and in another instance, his back is hitting the mattress of Inseong's bed. His wrists are pinned above his head as Inseong thumbs across the small tattoo. The crimson of his eyes change, diluted with a golden glitter as Youngkyun feels a certain spark of heat emanating from the pulse point of his wrist. When Inseong relocates his hands from his boyfriend's wrists to his waist, there is an additional pair of footsteps within the star of the inked diagram of Youngkyun's left wrist. Inseong immediately moves to attack Youngkyun's neck and the younger wastes no time tilting his head to the side to allow better access. Inseong nips at the soft, supple skin, fangs occasionally grazing against it and drinking in all the quiet, low noises Youngkyun is emitting. He hopes to be drinking something else quite soon.
"W-wait, lock the door."
Youngkyun doesn't want to risk another Jaeyoon incident, he absolutely cannot have the loud chanting of the older male in the back of his mind every time he's having sex. Inseong grumbles as he pulls away from his boyfriend. Youngkyun doesn't miss the comfortable pressure and warmth of the other for long as he's right back on top of him before he even notices he has left. The way Inseong is staring down the other has Youngkyun shaking. It's hot and sinister as the demon's eyes hypnotise him and Youngkyun is ready to sell his soul if he hasn't already. The thought of eternal damnation escapes his thoughts completely when Inseong presses a harsh kiss against his lips and Youngkyun knows he's fucked in the best way possible.
But for some reason, the faintest 'chug, chug, chug' can still be heard from the other side of the door.
--
Often overlooked is the term 'lilith' as the nomenclature for a sub-section of demons, characterised as desireable, attractive and seductive in nature. Not to be confused with incubi or succubi, liliths are considered the superior sub-section to their inferior counterparts.
Did Taeyang agree to this?
This ain't about him.
Whilst the source of blood is not of importance to liliths, the process is more enjoyable given that there is a mutual agreement between the lilith and the source. Another commonality of vampires derived from liliths, is the concept of requiring invitation, or, simply, consent.
Fucking blood sucking dickheads, hon hon hon look at me I can't go into the light or I'll sparkle, urgh go choke on a garlic bulb
So you're telling me Chanhee isn't a demon? Like at all?
He's not a demon Kyun
Are you sure?
Yes, I'm sure
Are you really sure?
Yes
I think you're full of shit.
There is one known summoning ritual for liliths, involving the scribing of its mark and an incantation. Success is dependent on the summoner and not guaranteed.
e.g. if they're cute.
And fuck vampires and incubi.
No Inseong, we can't write that.
- The Demon Beside Me by D. Ha and G. Dok